Monday courses

Spring 2018 Semester

Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights [8 SESSIONS]

When the U.S. Constitution was proposed, those opposing its adoption (the anti-federalists) complained that the document did not include any protections of individual liberties. The proponents, recognizing the need for compromise, promised that the first Congress would propose amendments to the document to provide the missing protections. This course examines these amendments (plus the 14th Amendment) and how they are currently interpreted.

March 12: History of adoption, theories of interpretation, the importance of the Fourteenth Amendment, brief overview of the First Amendment.

March 19: The free speech parts of the First Amendment.

April 2: Freedom of Information Acts and the Missouri Sunshine Law.

April 9: The religious freedom parts of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

April 16: The Second and Third Amendments.

April 23: The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments. Unreasonable searches, selfincrimination, right to counsel.

April 30: The Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Amendments.

May 7: Decisions of the Supreme Court for the current, and for the next term.

Instructor: Patrick Cronan was born in Columbia, Mo., and educated in Missouri and Texas. Says Patrick, “After my undergraduate degree, I was drafted and sent to Germany where I (and several others) successfully prevented the Russian invasion of Western Europe. I returned to the University Law School and then hung out a shingle. I am a retired lawyer, primarily interested in local government
law. For several years I served University Extension as the state legal specialist for the Governmental Affairs program.”

Writing in the Fourth Quarter: What’s in YOUR Mind? [8 SESSIONS]

This class is intended to explore the realm of personal ideas not yet fully expressed to your satisfaction. We all have decades of life experienced, considered, but not yet put to paper. There is a sense of relief at having made it to the ‘Fourth Quarter,’ and this class is intended to address, face on, the richness and interest inherent in our own lives. Four of our class meetings will be shaped around presentations by four local seniors talking about their writings and the processes that led them to writing. The other four sessions will be comprised of in-class discussions, looking at short pieces we have or will write in an effort to tease out our own primary concerns. In this process, we hope to draw on the fabric of our lives – both joys and fears. There will also be a presentation on things to consider if you are interested in publishing any of your present, past or future written work. The outcome will expose us to creative senior writers and some of their work – but it will also lead us to explore our own creative potential for ‘Writing in the Fourth Quarter.’

Instructors: Kit Salter is a geographer with four+ decades of college teaching and associated writing at UCLA, Mizzou and the National Geographic Society. He was educated at Oberlin College and the Univ. of California, Berkeley. Says Kit, “I’m teaching this because I’m married to a woman who loves and lives the writing life. Cathy Salter will be involved in two of the eight sessions; she’s a columnist for the Columbia Tribune and long-time geographer, writer and ace teacher.”

The world of financial planning is rife with those who did not know whom to trust, thought they knew how to “do it themselves” or took advice from a friend or relative. We will remove the wizard’s veil and “free Dorothy” to understand how to make decisions based on fact and logic. More education and less tension will empower you to know what questions to ask and of whom. We will focus on taxation and how the wealthy build tax-free retirement with the “Rich Man’s Roth” and the 7702 account, nondisclosed and hidden fees and how to quantify true market risk.

Instructors: Jason Ingram is the principal of the Columbia office and partner/principal of the Chesterfield office of Accelerated Wealth. Jason holds a Series 65 license, which qualifies him to serve as an investment advisor representative. Jason is a member of the National Ethics Association, serves on the advisory board for the Better Business Bureau and works to support numerous philanthropic organizations. He lives in Columbia with his wife, a physician, and their dog, horses and a mule. He loves Osher and teaching adult learners.

Jonathan Krueger is executive director and investment advisor for Accelerated Wealth, with offices in Chesterfield, Mo., and Colorado Springs, Colo. Jonathan has invested in the personal finance industry and has held several executive management positions throughout his career. As a fiduciary, Jonathan maintains his Series 65 registration and uses his intricate knowledge of insurance and investment solutions to provide Accelerated Wealth clients with advanced wealth preservation and legacy continuance strategies.

Modern Bridge Basics for Beginners [8 SESSIONS]

Playing bridge is the hobby of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. The ‘Bridge Basics’ class is geared for people new to the game, but can also be a valuable refresher course for novices. Modern bridge conventions will be taught. Upon completion of the course, you should feel comfortable playing socially or with a computer online.

Instructor: David Shipman started playing bridge in college in 1967, began playing competitive duplicate bridge in 1987 and has since been awarded over 3,800 master points. David attends national bridge tournaments on a frequent basis and was awarded bridge Life Master status in 1997. David is an ACBL certified instructor and has been teaching bridge classes for the last two years.

Why Purgatory? It’s Not Hell! [8 SESSIONS]

Finishing the stressful journey through the Inferno, Dante’s portrayal of the consequences of human evil, sin, cruelty and greed, is not the place to stop in the Divine Comedy. Dante’s carefully constructed poetic triptych continues with his arduous but rewarding climb up the mountain of Purgatory. Still accompanied by Virgil (not so much as mentor and disciplinarian, but as companion and fellow learner), Dante sees the transformation of the human soul by the power of art, of poetry, and most especially, of Love, both human and spiritual. As he approaches the peak of Purgatory, we accompany him toward a vision of the highest divinity. If there is a greater work devoted to the perception of change in human life and consciousness – from the shady isolation of sinfulness to the cleansing enlightenment of love and compassion – I do not know it. We will use John Ciardi’s translation as the “base,” though participants who have other versions are encouraged to use them and be prepared to offer comparative insights drawn from the other translators. Illustrations, including William Blake’s, will stimulate our eyes and supplement our thoughts.

Recommended text: John Ciardi’s translation of The Purgatorio, by Dante Alighieri (also known as part two of The Divine Comedy).

Instructor: Thomas F. Dillingham, Ph.D., retired from the Stephens College English/Creative Writing Department in 2001, after 30 years of teaching. Subsequently, he taught at Central Methodist University, retiring in 2006 as emeritus associate professor of English. He taught a variety of literary genres and periods, and published essays and reviews on 18th Century British literature, modern and contemporary poetry, mythology and science fiction.